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Bacterial Activity, Community Structure, and Centimeter-Scale Spatial Heterogeneity in Contaminated Soil

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Abstract

In an anthropogenically disturbed soil (88% sand, 8% silt, 4% clay), 150-mg samples were studied to examine the fine-scale relationship of bacterial activity and community structure to heavy metal contaminants. The soils had been contaminated for over 40 years with aromatic solvents, Pb, and Cr. Samples from distances of <1, 5, 15, and 50 cm over a depth range of 40–90 cm underwent a sequential analysis to determine metabolic potential (from 14C glucose mineralization), bacterial community structure [using polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE)], and total extractable Pb and Cr levels. Metabolic potential varied by as much as 10,000-fold in samples <1 cm apart; log–log plots of metal concentration and microbial metabolic potential showed no correlation with each other. Overall, metal concentrations ranged from 9 to 29,000 mg kg−1 for Pb and from 3 to 8500 mg kg−1 for Cr with small zones of high contamination present. All regions exhibited variable metal concentrations, with some soil samples having 30-fold differences in metal concentration in sites <1 cm apart. Geostatistical analysis revealed a strong spatial dependence for all three parameters tested (metabolic activity, Pb, and Cr levels) with a range up to 30 cm. Kriging maps showed that in zones of high metal, the corresponding metabolic activity was low suggesting that metals negatively impacted the microbial community. PCR-DGGE analysis revealed that diverse communities were present in the soils with a random distribution of phylotypes throughout the sampling zones. These results suggest the presence of spatially isolated microbial communities within the soil profile.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Department of Energy's Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR) program (Grant no. DE-FG02-98ER62681). Our thanks to Indiana Department of Transport and, in particular, Bill Jarvis for giving us access to thissite.

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  1. Joanna M. Becker

    Present address: USDA-ARS, Department of Soil Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2054, USA

    Joanna M. Becker & Allan Konopka

  2. USDA–ARS–National Soil Tilth Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Tim Parkin

  3. Agronomy Department, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Cindy H. Nakatsu

  4. Department of Mathematical Sciences, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, 01609, USA

    Jayson D. Wilbur

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Correspondence to Joanna M. Becker.

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Becker, J.M., Parkin, T., Nakatsu, C.H. et al. Bacterial Activity, Community Structure, and Centimeter-Scale Spatial Heterogeneity in Contaminated Soil. Microb Ecol 51, 220–231 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-005-0002-9

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